


In Dreams We Live

by robertssofttouchxaaronssoftlad



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 17:42:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12658335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robertssofttouchxaaronssoftlad/pseuds/robertssofttouchxaaronssoftlad
Summary: Robert's day takes an unexpected turn. (Or my hopes for the Christmas special.)





	In Dreams We Live

"Come on Aaron. You promised we could go home early today," Robert whines as he watches his husband set a large sheet of metal down just outside the portacabin. 

Reaching his hand out he absently brushes the snow from Aaron's hair, lets his fingers linger a little longer than necessary. It's enough to make Aaron stop from grabbing for another sheet. 

"Please. It's freezing. You don't want to be sick for Christmas do you?" Robert pleads. 

A smile spreads across Aaron's face at the sight of Robert, cheeks pink, shivering in the snow, windblown hair standing on end. Slowly he removes his thick gloves, places a hand on either side of Robert's face. 

Closing his eyes, Robert soaks in the warmth.  He covers Aaron's hands with his own. A soft sigh escapes him and he feels Aaron's hot breath on his lips a second before it's replaced by a quick swipe of Aaron's tongue. He leans in, yearning for more, but just as quickly Aaron is gone. 

"Right. We can go home now." Aaron throws a smirk over his shoulder as he opens the car door. 

Rushing after him, Robert's grateful Aaron chose to drive as he's fairly certain there's not an ounce of blood left in his head. He loves when Aaron is like this. Playful, flirty, carefree. It's a mood Robert plans to keep him in. He gently grazes his hand along the sensitive skin of Aaron's neck, leans over to nibble his tender ear lobe. 

"Oi! You want me to crash?" Aaron chides, but there's laughter in his voice as he pulls into the driveway to the Mill. 

"Doesn't matter now we're home does it?" Robert responds as he grabs for the back of Aaron's head. 

"Should have stayed at the scrapyard for that. You know we're not alone here," Aaron reminds Robert as he climbs out of the car. 

"We can just send Liv over to Gabby's for the night." Robert's response is met with a questioning look. 

"You forgetting something Robert?" Aaron's laughter is cut off by the sound of shouting. 

"Ara! Ara, where are you?" Liv's voice carries from around the house. 

The blood drains from Aaron's face, and before Robert can even think, Aaron's already sprinting for the backyard. Robert chases after him unsure of what's happening. He almost runs Aaron over as he comes to a dead stop just in front of him. They hear the tiniest little giggle from behind the big tree next to them before it's all out chaos. 

"Gotcha!" comes a shout from across the yard. 

A small boy with dark brown hair and sea green eyes charges for the tree just as an even smaller figure of a girl emerges, darting in the opposite direction. Her squeals pierce the air, dark curls flying around her little cherub face. The boy catches her quickly and they both fall down. 

"They were getting restless inside all day so I thought I'd let them run it out for a while," Liv says.

"Good idea. At least they'll sleep well tonight. Right, Robert?" Aaron looks to his husband who is still watching the kids intently.

The little boy is the first off the ground. He runs straight for Robert. "Did you see Dad? Did you see how fast I ran after her?" he chatters excitedly. 

"Dad? Who's Dad? Who are you?" Robert's never felt so confused in his life. 

The little boy just laughs before rushing into Aaron's waiting arms. "Dad's being silly Daddy. He's pretending he doesn't know who I am."

"Yeah? Your dad seems to be in a silly mood today," Aaron says as he nuzzles into the little boys neck causing him to giggle uncontrollably. 

Robert stands stunned. What is going on? Who are these kids? Why is Aaron playing along with this weird game? He feels a slight tug on his pant leg and looks down into a set of icy blue eyes he's only seen the color of on one other person. He can see the tears pooling in them. 

"Bubby caught me again Dad. It's not fair! Why does he get to be bigger than me?" she cries while holding her arms up in the air. 

"Ara, we talked about this. One day you'll be big and fast like your brother, too," Aaron tells the little girl. "Robert! Are you going to pick your daughter up or you planning on making her stand there all day waiting?"

"What? Ummm…yeah. Okay." Robert reaches down, gingerly pulling the crying girl into his arms. She squeezes his neck tightly and Robert folds her in closer, turns his face into her curls already knowing what he'd find there. The scent of strawberries. How did he know she'd smell of strawberries?

"She'll never be as fast as me cause I'm the…"

"Jacob Able!" Aaron cuts the little boy off.

"Able?" Robert questions.

"Yeah. Cause he was the…"

"Good brother," Robert finishes with him. 

"Well you're not being a very good brother right now," Aaron scolds Jacob as he sets him on the ground before reaching for Ara. Robert reluctantly lets her go, but immediately misses the feel of her all too familiar weight in his arms. "And you. What are you on about? You forgot your son's middle name after insisting on it for months? What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing. I was just messing around. Putting my foot in it as always." Robert shakes his head. He tries to pull himself together without letting Aaron sense that he's apparently managed to forget their entire life together.

"Dad? Do you think it's bad being the best?" Jacob looks to Robert expectantly. 

"Well no…" Robert starts.

"Robert." The warning in Aaron's voice is unmistakable. 

"But…" Robert continues, "it's not everything either. Sometimes you have to lose everything to find what really matters." He's unsure of what prompted the words, but he's never felt anything to be more true than that one statement. 

"That doesn't make any sense," Jacob states with all the worldly knowledge of a seven year old.

"Makes total sense to me," Aaron replies, a look of near pride shining from his eyes.

Without realizing he's moving, Robert's reaching for the back of Aaron's neck, pulling him in for a soft kiss. Robert quickly loses himself in it all - the moment, the kiss, the feel and taste of Aaron. The sensation of coming home after being gone for too long. He can't explain the feeling that he has somehow been missing this. Robert moves in closer in an attempt to deepen the kiss when he's startled by a muffled yelp. 

"Dad, you're squeezing me too tight!" Ara cries. 

Jumping back, Robert remembers Aaron is still holding his daughter. Their daughter. 

"I almost couldn't breathe Daddy," Ara tells Aaron in the dramatic way only a four year old can pull off. 

"Dad was just trying to show us how much he loves us."

"He must love us a whole lot then."

"Think so huh? Should he show us again?" There's a hint of mischief on Aaron's face as he looks to Robert. This is a game to them. One he somehow knows really well. Slowly Robert moves in to kiss Aaron again, but turns his head at the last second to cover Ara's face with wet rapid kisses. Her laughter only encouraging him to keep the game going. 

"Gross!" Jacob says crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I hate kisses."

"Oh you do, do you?" Robert asks before pulling the small boy into his arms and planting kisses over every inch of his chilled face. 

"Well I hate to break up this love fest, but since you're home I'm heading over to Gabby's," Liv says. She gives Jacob then Ara a kiss on their foreheads. Waves a quick goodbye to Robert and Aaron before walking around the Mill and out of sight. 

"Right. Are we ready to go in? Get warmed up?" Aaron asks.

"Not yet Daddy!" Ara yells.

"Can we finish our tag game first? Please Dad?" Jacob pleads with Robert.

"I think that sounds like a good idea. I think Daddy should be it. What do you think? Is he fast enough to get us?" Robert teases. 

"Just watch me," Aaron says half a second before he charges for his family, each one running in a different direction. He runs for Ara first, but lets her get away. Jacob sprints just out of his reach, giggling the whole time. Robert knows the second Aaron looks his way that he's done for. Aaron's always been a runner. Thankfully, he only does it to keep in shape now but Robert's never been able to keep up, let alone out-run his husband. Aaron's on him in a flash, both of them toppling to the ground. Jacob and Ara quickly pile on top. 

"Okay. Okay. Now I can't breathe." Robert manages to squeeze out on a laugh. 

"We're showing you how much we love you now Dad," Ara tells him as she hops up and runs off again.

"Yeah Dad. We're just showing you how much we love you." Jacob kisses Robert on the cheek before getting up to chase after Ara again. 

"Yeah. We're just showing you how much we love you Robert." Aaron smiles as he gently presses his lips against Robert's. He pulls back slowly, but Robert chases after him with his mouth. He slides his tongue along Aaron's upper lip. Aaron opens his mouth, meets Robert's tongue with his own. Aaron pulls away on a moan. "The kids. We have to get back to the kids."

"Mmmm…I'll be right there." Robert continues to lay on the cold ground. His eyes are closed. The snow dampens his clothes as he listens to the shouts and laughter Aaron and the kids, his family, running around him. He tries to remember a single moment in his life when he's been happier, but comes up lacking. 

"Robert. Robert come on." Beep…beep. "Robert please." Beep…beep. "I love you." Beep beep. 

Robert tries to fight through the haze in his head. "Aaron?" He opens his eyes, sees Aaron's face hovering above his. His eyes roam around the room, taking in the hospital monitors, the bandages on his hands. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here," Aaron says.

"What's going on? Did I fall asleep in the snow?"

"The snow? What snow?"

"Where are the kids Aaron? Are they home? Are they with Liv?" Robert's voice is a mixture of concern and confusion. 

"Kids? Robert what kids?" Aaron places his hands on Robert's shoulders, tries to get him to focus. 

"Jacob and Ara. Our kids Aaron. Where are they? Are they okay?" Robert is nearly frantic. 

"Robert you need to calm down. I don't know what you're talking about." Aaron stops Robert just short of ripping out his IV.

"We were playing in the snow. We were playing tag and then you all piled on me. I was laying on the ground. I was happy. I was so happy Aaron." Robert's voice cracks on Aaron's name. 

"No Robert. We don't have any kids. You were trapped in the cricket pavilion when it caught fire. Lachlan had you tied up there. Don't you remember? He saw us together, thought we were planning something? He kidnapped you Robert. You really don't remember?" The concern in Aaron's voice is palpable. 

"No. No. We were with our-" It all comes rushing back to Robert in a flash. Him and Aaron talking. Aaron telling him he wanted to try and give them another chance. Robert walking to his car, feeling lighter than he had in months, when he felt the knock on his head. He remembers waking up tied to the chair as Lachlan poured gasoline everywhere. 

"Oh god. Aaron. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything. For all the pain I caused you," Robert says.

"I know Robert. I know. It's okay. We're past that now," Aaron's tone is soothing.

"How? How can you say that? After everything I did?" 

"Cause I love you. I always have. I always will." 

"I love you too, but I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you or another chance," Robert nearly sobs. 

"Shouldn't that be for me to decide? I know what I want Robert. I want you. I want us." The certainty in Aaron's voice rings clear. 

"Me too. I want us more than you know, but I can't promise I won't mess up again."

"Hey. Messed up with you forever. Remember?" 

"I love you. I love you so much," Robert barely manages to choke out. 

"I love you too." Aaron puts his hand on Robert's cheek, traces his lips with his thumb before leaning in for the softest kiss. "I was going to call Vic to stay with you while I went home for a bit and got a shower and clean clothes. Is that okay?"

"Would you mind staying? Just a little longer." Robert's voice is steady, but Aaron can sense the fear behind the words. 

"Sure. I can stay a bit longer." 

"Thanks. I don't want to let you go yet."

"You never have to let me go again." Aaron promises. 

"I've missed you so much. Missed seeing you, touching you, holding you." There are tears in Robert's eyes, threatening to spill over. 

"Scoot over," Aaron says.

"What?"

"You heard. Scoot over." Aaron uses one foot to take off a shoe, then the other and climbs onto the bed next to Robert.

They lay facing each other, their breath mingling between them, hands held tightly together. 

"I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Got it? You don't have to be worried that I'll disappear." Aaron does his best to reassure Robert. 

"They did."

"Who did?"

"Jacob and Ara. Our kids," Robert says. 

"They weren't real Robert. You were in a coma. You were dreaming," Aaron tries to remind him.

"They felt real to me." Robert's voice is a near sob. "I wanted them to be real. You, Liv, them. It's all I want. I know you're probably not ready to talk kids, but someday. Maybe." 

"Robert. That's all I've ever wanted, too. You and Liv. Kids of our own. Tell me about them."

"You really want me to tell you?"

"They're our kids Robert. I should probably know a little about them." Aaron smiles at him. 

"I love you. You know that right?" 

"I know. I love you too."


End file.
